When you hear a story like this, it makes you realize how just a small idea can turn into something even more amazing than originally expected.
In 2004, when 13-year-old Brittany Bergquist and her 12-year-old brother Robbie of Norwell, Massachusetts, started their business, they only used $21.00 of their own money. Now, six years later, the Cell Phones for Soldiers program has raised almost $2 million in donations and distributed more than 500,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas.
The mission is "Help Our Troops Call Home". How does the program work? Consumers turn in their old cell phones to Cell Phones for Soldiers. The phones are then sent to ReCellular, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone - enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad.
Mike Newman, vice president of ReCellular, says "Americans will replace an estimated 130 million cell phones this year with the majority of phones either discarded or stuffed in a drawer. Most people don't realize that the small sacrifice of donating their unwanted phones can have a tremendous benefit for a worthy cause like Cell Phones for Soldiers."
"Cell Phones for Soldiers started as a small way to show our family's appreciation for the men and women who have sacrificed the day-to-day contact with their own families to serve in the U.S. armed forces," says the teens' father, Bob Bergquist. "Over the past few years, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of others. But, we have also seen the need to support our troops continue to grow as more troops are sent overseas for longer assignments."
So many soldiers have been greatly affected by this wonderful program. To read their stories and to learn how you can donate your cell phone to the Cell Phones for Soldiers program, please visit www.CellPhonesForSoldiers.com.
Source: (Cell Phones for Solders, www.CellPhonesForSoldiers.com)
Comments(2)